BRONZE AGE

3rd-2nd millennia BC

In the Bronze Age, the territory of the Zeravshan basin was one of the centres of cultural
development in the Central Asian Interfluve. The geoecological niche the region was enclosed in
contributed to the development of diversified economy: agriculture, livestock breeding, mining and
metallurgy. During the Palaeometallic Age, this area, where diverse cultural traditions
intersected, was one of the most culturally integrated macro-regions in Central Asia. Currently, 15
monuments from steppe pastoral tribes are known in the region, representing various information
sections:
· Samarkand area (Siab burial, Tugai settlement);

· Jam antiquities (burials Galasherik 3-4);

· Sites in Urgut district (burials Guz, Sayguz, Muminabad 1-2);

· Zeravshan Reserve (Tagiskent-type burials 1-2 and Amirabad-type burial 3);

· Kushrabad District (burials Toz, Beshmola and Bashman).

The mapping of monuments and analysis of the entire body of sources reveals a complex mosaic of
cultural formations in the studied area. The Zeravshan region stands out as a special historical
and cultural area, demonstrating signs of contamination and interaction between the pastoral
population and the more highly developed agricultural civilisation.

In the early 2nd millennium BCE, the Andronovo chariot from the Ural and Kazakh
steppes spread deeper into the Asian oases and even further into urban Bactria. Most active
assimilation and integration processes are associated with the bearers of the Fedorovo sub- culture
of the Andronovo historical and cultural community. The activation was the result of a search for
new ore sources in connection with the crisis of metallurgical resources. The infiltration of the
pastoral population triggered the appearance of tin bronze in agricultural oases.

The Zeravshan basin in the Bronze Age was an independent cultural phenomenon with internal
dynamics. The formation of complexes was based on migration and integration processes in the 2nd
millennium BCE. Presumably, the location of the monuments reflects the seasonal movements of
pastoral communities, and the diversity of grave goods in individual burials indicates the elite
status of the dead persons. Important factors that contributed to the appearance of extraordinary
monuments in the Zeravshan region and determined their historical significance in the Bronze Age
were mineral resources and proximity of agricultural and pastoral cultures, as well as their geographical location in the centre of the Eurasian continent.